Author: Ciro Antônio da Silva Resende

Abstract:

In democracies, citizens and groups have the right to defend their demands before decision-makers and, in doing so, seek to influence the political process. However, the capacity for influence among organized interests varies, as does access to decision-making arenas. Given this context, the objective of this thesis is to map, based on institutionalized action, the organizations that engage in lobbying activities in Brazil and, thereby, characterize the access and influence of organized interests with decision makers in Brasilia. It seeks to answer two central questions: (1) Which organized interests have greater access to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches at the federal level and, consequently, are better positioned to influence decisions? and (2) to what extent are the findings on access reflected in the perceptions of relevant actors in the country’s democratic dynamics – federal deputies, institutional and government relations professionals, and the Brazilian population? The time frame used refers to the period from October 2022 to December 2023, which was defined based on the availability of data for the Executive Branch, which is provided through the Federal Executive Branch Electronic Agenda System (e-Agendas). In addition, data collected by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) covering the period from May 2017 to December 2021 are also used. To address the topic, different methodological strategies are combined – (1) descriptive analysis, (2) social network analysis, and (3) survey research – proposing an integrated perspective between the three branches of government and the development of an influence indicator based on access. Regarding the results, it is observed that, among the most relevant actors in the network of organized interests, employer and business associations stand out, followed by social rights associations and trade unions. When the analysis focuses on the highest-ranked sectors, it is clear that the vast majority of actors are from the business sector, with emphasis on the industrial and service sectors. In general, these findings are consistent with the results of survey research, which indicate that the productive sectors are perceived as having greater capacity to influence decisions that emerge from the National Congress and the Federal Executive Branch; the third sector and organizations representing workers are evaluated as less influential.